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Larry Munson ended 43 years as the radio
play-by-play voice for Georgia football games when he said Monday
he has called his last game.
The 85-year-old Munson underwent surgery
April 4 to remove blood clots from his brain, but he returned to
work Georgia's first two home games.
He said he won't be in the booth for
Saturday's game against Alabama.
"It caught me by great surprise,"
Loran Smith, Munson's longtime sideline reporter and host of
Georgia's pregame show, said of the announcement.
"I had thought that his voice for the
first couple of games was a little weaker than usual," Smith
said.
Munson, who began working only on home games
last season, was on the pregame show by phone before Saturday
night's game at Arizona State.
"He sounded stronger than ever,"
Smith said. "I just thought he was getting stronger and would
be his old self.
"I thought with the excitement of a
game like Alabama he would be back to his old heroics."
The timing of the retirement was a surprise,
since the game between No. 3 Georgia and No. 8 Alabama will
attract much attention.
"I would guess from his standpoint he's
looking at the stress and pressure," Smith said. "Maybe
he's thinking he wants to be very careful."
The Alabama game is a landmark for the
Georgia radio team for the second straight year. Last season's
game at Alabama was the first road game that Munson missed.
Munson was in his 43rd season as Georgia's
lead voice on its radio network.
"I can't express enough my deep
feelings toward the Georgia football fans," Munson said in a
statement released by Georgia.
"They have been so friendly, especially
during this most recent period of time. I feel I owe them so much
more than I can give. I'll remember all the great times with the
Dogs and have the fondest wishes and good luck toward them
all."
Scott Howard, who has been in the booth with
Munson for 15 years and took over the play-by-play duty for road
games last season, will work with analyst Eric Zeier, the former
Georgia quarterback, for the remaining games this season.
"They're prepared," said Smith,
who added, "I guess I'm the senior guy now, aren't I?"
Smith said Munson will be missed
"because he was such an icon and such a sensation.
"I think if he can't do it we've got as
good as you want in Scott Howard. He just has such a fine command
of the game. Eric adds a new dimension and has a feel for the
field that you want. His analysis is very, very good because he's
a former quarterback."
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